SEASON PREVIEW: UPEI Women’s Hockey Panthers ready to embrace the challenges of a new era
The UPEI Women’s Hockey team is embarking on a new journey this season, and rookie head coach Sean Fisher hopes to build something special while staying true to what it means to be a Panther.
“The group might face challenges through the start of the season, but they’ll grow and learn together, and they’ll be better for it at the end of the day,” Fisher said.
In addition to Bruce Donaldson’s retirement from coaching, the Panthers lost key players at each position, including goaltender Camille Scherger; defenders Sophie Vandale, Sydney Lyndon, and Katelynn Nice; and forward Jolena Gillard. Still, Fisher is excited to work with a driven group of young women who want to prove themselves on the ice and build their own legacy.
“Yes, we did lose some talented players, but we retained a lot of talent as well,” Fisher said. “We’ll overcome the loss of graduating players like every good team does. We’ll grow, learn, develop, and compete together.”
Third-year forward Lexie Murphy is a candidate to be one of those breakout players, as she joins the team’s leadership group for the first time. The Kensington, PEI native said she hopes to build on the foundation that her teammates shaped before her.
“Last year we ended on a high, taking a win at nationals, and we hope to bring that momentum with us into the new season,” Murphy said. “Lately, we’ve been focusing on developing our team culture and putting in lots of work on and off the ice.”
In addition to Murphy, the forward group consists of veterans Taylor Gillis, Kelly Clements, Mireille Martin, and Tiah Scichilone. They’ll be relied on to put the puck in the net and help set up their younger teammates for easy scoring opportunities.
Last season, the Panthers leaned heavily on Gillard, who scored 14 of the team’s 52 goals. This year they’ll have to find as many scoring opportunities as possible if they want to be competitive. Rookie walk-on Kierra St. Peter could help the cause as she scored two goals in three pre-season games and looked solid all-around. UPEI also has a slew of sophomores, who look to prove themselves with plenty of playing time up for grabs. If someone from that recruitment class emerges as an offensive threat, the Panthers could be tough to defend against.
“We are a deep forward group. We will be able to ice four lines that can play and compete at the U SPORT level,” Fisher said. “I think some second- and third-year players are ready to take bigger steps forward this year, and that’s exciting.”
In recent years, UPEI could hang their hat on defence. And while that might still be the case, the blueline will look significantly different in 2022–23. Ally Clements is the only returning player from the 2019–20 season when they led the conference in fewest goals allowed. She’ll be joined by sophomores Avery Penner, Elizabeth Beiersdorfer, Stephanie Leger, and Alyssa Nolan, and rookies Emily Holmes, Orianna MacNeil, and Rachel Richards.
Lining up between the pipes is Shaylin McFarlane, who earned the number one job after serving behind Scherger the previous two seasons. In 12 career games, the third-year netminder owns a 7-4 record with a 2.40 goals against average and a .906 save percentage.
There’s no denying the fact the Panthers will look and play differently this season, but their core values will never change.
“UPEI is known to be a hardworking, gritty team, and we plan to continue this style of play and earn our place in the AUS,” Gillis said. “Everyone trained hard this summer and came back to training camp ready to play, so I’m excited to get the season started.”
The Panthers play their season opener against the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleues on Friday, October 7, at 7 pm in Moncton and their first home game on Saturday, October 8, at 3 pm at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown. Go Panthers Go!
